Baseball

• MLB players are expected to vote today on whether or not to accept the league’s latest return-to-play proposal after initially planning to delay the vote due to coronavirus outbreaks in training camps, according to sources. The league held firm on its offer of 60 games at full prorated salaries for players after the MLB Players Association countered with a 70-game schedule.

• Five days after “unequivocally” declaring there would be a 2020 baseball season, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred backtracked in a nationally televised interview, saying he is “not confident” the sport will return this year because of the players’ union’s threat to file a billion-dollar grievance against the league for not fulfilling its obligation under the parties’ March 26 agreement to play the most games possible if Manfred institutes a season. 

Basketball

• Ahead of its planned season restart at Walt Disney World next month, the NBA laid off an estimated 100 employees, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. An NBA spokesperson said the league is seeking to “better align with changes in our business, particularly around digital media, and be well-positioned for future growth.”

• The NBA and its players’ union each issued a lengthy memo outlining health and safety protocols for the resumption of play, including plans for coronavirus testing and quarantine procedures for those who test positive.

• The WNBA announced it will play a 22-game regular season beginning in July and a full playoff slate at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., though a specific start date and living accommodations for players with varying family situations are still to be determined. The players’ union ratified the plan after the league agreed that players who opt into the season would receive 100 percent of their salaries, assuming that both the regular season and playoffs occur as scheduled.

College sports

• SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement that the collegiate athletic conference would consider placing a moratorium on holding championship events in Mississippi until the state changes its flag, which contains a Confederate emblem. Leaders at both Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi, the state’s two largest colleges, subsequently issued statements in support of Sankey and called for alterations to the flag.

• Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced a bill that would require the NCAA to change its policies on college athletes’ ability to profit off of their name, image and likeness, and provide the college sports governing body with protection from legal challenges to the new regulations. Rubio’s bill would force the NCAA to establish a new regulatory framework for NIL by June 30, 2021, while granting the organization the latitude to make rules that allow it to “preserve the amateur status of student athletes” and “ensure appropriate recruitment of prospective student athletes.”

Hockey

• The Canadian government issued an order that, pending the signature of Governor General Julie Payette, would allow the NHL to bypass the country’s 14-day quarantine policy for anyone entering Canada so that a Canadian city could serve as one of the league’s two “hub” cities for its return to play. Las Vegas is reportedly expected to serve as one of the two host cities, with Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Minneapolis/St. Paul all still in the running.

Tennis

• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved the USTA’s plan to hold the annual U.S. Open tennis tournament at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 as originally scheduled, but without fans in attendance, minus the usual qualifying tournaments and with downsized doubles draws. Cuomo sought to ease concerns about New York being the one-time epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., saying the state’s rate of transmission is “the lowest in the United States, having been the highest at one point.”

Football

• The NFL announced plans to hold the 2021 Pro Bowl at the brand-new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, a new location for the event that has been based in Orlando, Fla., for the past four years after departing its longtime home of Hawaii. The new home of the Raiders franchise was already set to host the 2022 NFL Draft and is reportedly seen as the front-runner to land the 2025 Super Bowl.

• Josh Harris and David Blitzer, principal owners of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, acquired a stake of less than 5 percent in the Pittsburgh Steelers for an undisclosed price, according to two people familiar with the transaction. The Wall Street duo, which also owns English Premier League club Crystal Palace and the Prudential Center arena in Newark, N.J., have recently been exploring a bid to acquire the New York Mets.

Racing

• NASCAR moved its upcoming All-Star Race from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Bristol Motor Speedway amid a recent spike of COVID-19 cases in North Carolina and plans to host up to 30,000 fans at the Tennessee track on July 15. The race at Bristol, which under normal circumstances boasts a capacity of 146,000, will mark the second time in the event’s 35-year history that it is not run in Charlotte.

Media

• MLB agreed to a new media rights deal with Turner Sports under which the network will pay an average of around $470 million per year from 2022 through 2028, totaling $3.29 billion. Sources said the new deal, which represents a 40 percent increase in the annual fee paid by the network, will allow AT&T Inc.-owned Turner to continue airing one League Championship Series, two Division Series and one wild-card game per postseason, but does not include rights to any additional playoff games that the league might add, which would have to be negotiated separately.

• Wednesday: MLS teams report to Orlando, Fla. for training.

• Wednesday: NBA players must inform their team if they plan to opt out of participating in the season resumption at Walt Disney World Resort.

• Saturday: NWSL Challenge Cup begins in Herriman, Utah.

• June 30: NBA teams begin training camp.

• July 8: MLS is Back Tournament begins at Walt Disney World Resort.

• July 10: Formal NHL training camps open.

• July 31: The LPGA returns to play with the Drive On Championship in Toledo, Ohio.

1) NBA Said to Cut Workforce Ahead of Season Restart
Alex Silverman, Morning Consult

2) Younger Sports Fans Are Still Tuning In, and Will Be First to Return to Stadiums
Ryan Barwick, Adweek

3) Do Baseball’s Labor Fights Drive Fans Away?
Travis Sawchik, FiveThirtyEight

4) Top Non-Endemic Brands Continue Migration Into Esports
Sports Business Journal

5) UVa’s history with slavery prompts tweeks to new athletic logos
John Shifflett, The Charlottesville Daily Progress

6) In documents, NBA details coronavirus testing protocols, including 2-week resting period for positive tests
Tim Bontemps, ESPN

7) Without fans, Dallas’ WNBA franchise looks for new ways to activate sponsorships
Evan Hoopfer, Dallas Business Journal

8) 76ers Owners Harris and Blitzer Acquire Stake in NFL’s Steelers
Erik Schatzker, Bloomberg

9) NFL to recognize Juneteenth as company holiday
ESPN

10) Inside the Sophisticated Campaign to Save Men’s Running at Brown
Alan Blinder and Talya Minsberg, The New York Times